Abstract

Background: WHO guidelines recommend for treating Cat III animal bite victims with local infiltration of Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin (ERIG) into and around animal bite wounds followed by anti-rabies vaccine (ARV).The main reason for non-use of ERIGs by medical profession is the fear of anaphylaxis and laborious process. The present study was taken up with the objectives to assess the clinical safety of a new ERIG, describe sociodemographic profile of ERIG recipients and compliance to Intra Dermal Rabies Vaccine (IDRV), who reported to Anti Rabies Clinic (ARC) of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), Mandya.

Methods: Descriptive study at ARC, MIMS, Mandya for a period of one year. The data was collected using structured questionnaire. The data was entered into Microsoft excel and results were expressed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The study revealed that cat III animal bite victims were 3400 (56.3%), of these only 545 (16.0%) opted for the new ERIG. Skin Sensitivity Test (SST) showed positive results in 17 (3.1%) cases. Among the ERIG recipients 28 (5.1%) had mild adverse reaction to ERIG. The compliance rate was 49.2% for all 4 doses of IDRV.